Roy Foster on Seamus Heaney
21 October 2020
Listen to Honorary Fellow, Prof. Roy Foster, in a new podcast episode from Queen’s University Belfast as he discusses his latest book, On Seamus Heaney.
Carroll Professor of Irish History at Hertford College until 2016, Roy Foster is a pre-eminent historian of Ireland. In this new podcast, Foster discusses Seamus Heaney’s poetry with Prof. Richard English of QUB, an expert in Irish history and conflict.
The pair discuss Foster’s latest book, On Seamus Heaney, published by Princeton University Press in August. Drawing on unpublished drafts and correspondence, the book provides illuminating and personal interpretations of Heaney’s work, examining how – as a contemporary writer – he created an extraordinary connection with an exceptionally wide readership.
Professor Foster’s previous works include Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923, W. B. Yeats: A Life, and Modern Ireland 1600-1972. Listen to the podcast online via the QUB website and find out more about the new book from the publishers, including an in-depth Q&A with the author.